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School district · Michigan · LEAID 2616440

Grand Rapids Public Schools

Grand Rapids Public Schools sits in the lowest third of Michigan districts on estimated teacher pay at $62,549 (above only 50% of in-state peers with reliable estimates). Per-pupil spending, enrollment, and budget for Grand Rapids Public Schools come from the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 finance survey (FY2023).

$62,549
Est. avg teacher salary

Near benchmark

$22,312
Per-pupil spending
13,657
Students enrolled
50th
Pct. in MI
$62,549

Grand Rapids Public Schools sits in the lowest third of Michigan districts on estimated teacher pay at $62,549 (above only 50% of in-state peers with reliable estimates). Estimated average teacher salary is $62,549, below the national average of $70,245, serving 13,657 students (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).

  • Lower-third pay in state: Grand Rapids Public Schools sits in the lowest third of Michigan districts on estimated teacher pay at $62,549 (above only 50% of in-state peers with reliable estimates).
  • 50th percentile for Michigan
  • 43rd percentile nationally
  • 19% of spending reaches instructional salaries
  • Michigan ranks #32 of 49 on the salary estimate and #11 of 49 on enrollment in the same reliable-district pool.
  • Grand Rapids Public Schools ranks #250 of 492 Michigan districts by estimated teacher salary and #79 of 492 by per-pupil spending. Brighton Area Schools pay #1 at $122,714 is not Pontiac City School District spending #1 at $41,914 per pupil
  • -4.8% estimated-basis panel FY2019→FY2023 (not applied to the FTE figure above)

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LEAID 2616440 · NCES CCD F-33 FY2023

Grand Rapids F-33 compensation desk

SALARY-INLINE Near state avg RANK-ST-MID P50 in state RANK-NAT-LOW P43 national PPE-HIGH $22K/pupil ENR-LARGE 13.7K students INSTR-LOW 19% instr BASIS-FTE FTE-reported PHOTO-NEAR Near Reeths-Puffer FY-2023-MID FY2023 book

FY2023: $62,549 estimated average teacher salary · P50 in Michigan · P43 nationally · 19% instructional salary share. Nearest salary peer: Huron (+$376est. salary).

Salary neighbourhood chart for Grand Rapids

Salary neighbourhood · Grand Rapids

Grand Rapids sits mid-pack among in-state peers; the chart brackets it between the top and bottom pay poles (NCES F-33 FY2023, not a full state reprint).

est. salary
Source NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey As of FY2023
Appropriate use & corrections
National salary distribution for Grand Rapids

Grand Rapids Public Schools's estimated salary vs. every US district

NCES F-33 estimate, reliable-salary districts only

$62,549 43rd percentile higher than 43% of 10,684 US districts

Show national distribution $30,000–$40,000: 155 US districts (1%). Below this entry. $40,000–$50,000: 1,360 US districts (13%). Below this entry. $50,000–$60,000: 2,382 US districts (22%). Below this entry. $60,000–$70,000: 2,402 US districts (22%). This entry sits in this band. $70,000–$80,000: 1,633 US districts (15%). Above this entry. $80,000–$90,000: 1,097 US districts (10%). Above this entry. $90,000–$100,000: 662 US districts (6%). Above this entry. $100,000–$110,000: 371 US districts (3%). Above this entry. $110,000–$120,000: 249 US districts (2%). Above this entry. $120,000–$130,000: 156 US districts (1%). Above this entry. $130,000–$140,000: 112 US districts (1%). Above this entry. $140,000–$150,000: 57 US districts (1%). Above this entry. $150,000–$160,000: 25 US districts (0%). Above this entry. $160,000–$170,000: 13 US districts (0%). Above this entry. $170,000–$180,000: 10 US districts (0%). Above this entry. $180,000–$190,000: 0 US districts (0%). Above this entry. Grand Rapids Public Schools $30,000 $190,000 every reliable-salary US district, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $10K-wide band; taller bars hold more US districts. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey, FY2023 · FY2023

Grand Rapids in Michigan's lower-third pay band

Same 492 districts with a usable salary and a comparable per-pupil figure (NCES F-33 FY2023)

est. avg salary

What this shows Grand Rapids Public Schools ranks #250 of 492 Michigan districts by estimated teacher salary and #79 of 492 by per-pupil spending. Brighton Area Schools pay #1 at $122,714 is not Pontiac City School District spending #1 at $41,914 per pupil

Source NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey, FY2023 As of FY2023

The same districts by per-pupil spending

Grand Rapids Public Schools is marked; a high spending bar is not a high pay bar

per pupil

What this shows Pontiac City School District leads spending at $41,914 per pupil; Brighton Area Schools leads pay.

Source NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey, FY2023 As of FY2023

What stands out about Grand Rapids Public Schools

  • Estimated teacher pay here moved -4.8% between FY2019 and FY2023, trailing Michigan's statewide +17.1% by 21.9 points, a growth rate faster than 2% of the 513 Michigan districts with a comparable FY2019 baseline.
  • This is a contracting district: 14,944 students in FY2019 down to 13,657 in FY2023, a 8.6% decline. Enrolment drives most state funding formulas, so the finance figures below describe a budget under downward pressure rather than a steady state.

This pay stretches further than the headline figure suggests

Nominal district estimate
$62,548.84

The FY2023 salary estimate shown in the hero.

Michigan price level
94.3 / 100

BEA all-items regional price parity; 100 is the U.S. average.

National-price equivalent
$66,332

+6% versus the nominal figure.

Prices in Michigan run below the national average, so this salary has roughly the buying power of the national-price equivalent above. A district in a costlier state can advertise a larger nominal salary and still leave a teacher with less.

Regional price parity: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2023 all-items RPP by state. The adjustment applies a statewide index to a district figure, so it captures how Michigan compares nationally, not how this district compares with others in its own state. Compare every state on this basis.

How this salary figure is calculated
Full NCES reading for Grand Rapids Public Schools

What the Numbers Say About Grand Rapids Public Schools

Grand Rapids Public Schools is a mid-sized school district in Michigan, serving 13,657 students at an estimated per-pupil spending of $22,312. Estimated average teacher salary, derived from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by teacher FTE, is $62,549, placing the district in the high-investment tier of NCES F-33 respondents. NCES LEAID 2616440 references the FY2023 Common Core of Data Local Education Agency Finance Survey.

Relative to the Michigan statewide average of $63,155, teacher pay in Grand Rapids Public Schools runs slightly below the state benchmark, a 1.0% gap, and below the national instructional-salary estimate of $70,245 (11.0% differential). Among enrolling districts in Michigan, it pays more than 50% of them. Michigan itself ranks #32 of 49 nationally on average teacher compensation, which shapes the funding ceiling districts operate under.

On the budget side, Grand Rapids Public Schools reports $304.7M in total expenditure against $311.5M in revenue, with instructional salaries accounting for 19% of spending, a compensation-to-budget ratio that signals how much of each tax dollar reaches classroom educators. Regular-program teacher salary outlay is $41.1M, special-education teacher pay is $6.2M.

How does Grand Rapids Public Schools compare?

Estimated average teacher salary versus a peer district, the Michigan average, and the national average. Pick any in-state district to compare.

Grand Rapids Public Schools $62,549
Detroit Public Schools Community District $78,081
Michigan avg $63,155
National avg $70,245

Grand Rapids Public Schools pays -19.9% less than Detroit Public Schools Community District · per-pupil $22,312 vs $23,287

Derived from NCES F-33 teacher salary expenditure (Z35-Z38) and CCD Staff Universe teacher FTE (FY2023); a small minority use the documented fallback. Unreliable service entities are excluded.

Data-derived comparison paths

Find comparable Michigan districts

On pay, Grand Rapids Public Schools sits closest to Reeths-Puffer Schools; on per-pupil investment, its nearest match is East China School District. These are not simply nearby districts: each group is selected from the same NCES FY2023 dataset using a matching salary or per-pupil-investment signal and a comparable enrollment range.

Closest on estimated pay
  1. Reeths-Puffer Schools
  2. Huron Valley Schools
  3. Lakeview Sch. District (Calhoun)
  4. Saginaw School District of the City of
  5. Jenison Public Schools
  6. Northwest Community Schools
  7. Grand Ledge Public Schools
  8. Mattawan Consolidated School
  9. Bedford Public Schools
  10. Fraser Public Schools
  11. Royal Oak Schools
Closest on per-pupil investment
  1. East China School District
  2. Lansing Public School District
  3. Huron Valley Schools
  4. Berkley School District
  5. Walled Lake Consolidated Schools
  6. Lincoln Park School District of the City of
  7. Wyoming Public Schools
  8. Hudsonville Public School District
  9. Farmington Public School District
  10. Oak Park School District of the City of
  11. Novi Community School District

Similar estimated teacher pay

Similar per-pupil investment

Out-of-state districts near Grand Rapids Public Schools's enrollment scale

Two out-of-state peer sets for Grand Rapids Public Schools: closest on enrollment (13,657 students here) and closest on estimated average teacher salary ($62,549 here). Rows stay link-disjoint so each axis is a distinct neighborhood.

Similar enrollment

Nearest other districts by NCES student count (floored at ≥200).

Similar estimated salary

Nearest other districts by F-33-derived average teacher salary, distinct from the enrollment row.

Enrollment and salaries from NCES CCD F-33; estimated teacher pay can diverge widely at the same student count because of state funding, cost of living, and local bargaining.

Revenue & Expenditure

$311.5M
Total Revenue
$304.7M
Total Expenditure
$58.1M
Instruction Salaries
19% of total spending

Instructional Salary by Program

$41.1M
Regular Program
$6.2M
Special Education
$2.5M
Other Programs

The teacher salaries behind this page's average are the ones NCES reports for 3 programs in Grand Rapids Public Schools: the regular program, special education and other programs. It reports no separate figure for vocational programs. Together they are 86% of everything the district spends on instructional salaries; the other 14% pays instructional aides, paraprofessionals, substitutes and other instructional staff who are not counted as teachers here.

Michigan Teacher Pay Overview

The highest average among comparably sized Michigan districts belongs to Brighton Area Schools at $122,714. Grand Rapids Public Schools places 240 of 431 comparably sized districts, squarely in the middle band the state average actually represents. North Carolina and South Carolina are the states closest to Michigan on BEA's price parity, which makes them the fair comparison; against a costlier state this salary goes further than its number suggests.

View all Michigan districts →

Other Michigan Districts

Large-district sample from 508 Michigan peers with reliable NCES data; bar length shows pay magnitude within this slice.

Ann Arbor Public Schools
$71,530
16,740 students
Lansing Public School District
$60,086
9,896 students
Wayne-Westland Community School District
$76,513
9,334 students
L'Anse Creuse Public Schools
$74,469
9,289 students
Kentwood Public Schools
$66,781
9,260 students
Forest Hills Public Schools
$76,389
9,156 students

This is a sample of 6 from 508 Michigan districts with enrollment and salary data reliable enough to compare in the NCES CCD F-33 survey.

Frequently Asked Questions about Grand Rapids Public Schools
What is the average teacher salary in Grand Rapids Public Schools?

The average teacher salary in Grand Rapids Public Schools is $62,549 (NCES CCD FY2023), from reported teacher salary expenditure (F-33 items Z35-Z38) divided by the district's reported teacher headcount (NCES CCD Staff Universe Survey).

How does Grand Rapids Public Schools teacher pay compare to the Michigan average?

Grand Rapids Public Schools pays 1.0% less than the Michigan state average of $63,155. The district's average is $62,549.

How does Grand Rapids Public Schools teacher pay compare to the national average?

Grand Rapids Public Schools pays 11.0% below the national average of $70,245. The district average is $62,549.

What is the per-pupil spending in Grand Rapids Public Schools?

Grand Rapids Public Schools spends approximately $22,312 per student annually (NCES FY2023), covering instructional salaries, support services, and administration.

What percentage of Grand Rapids Public Schools's budget goes to teacher salaries?

Instructional salaries account for 19% of Grand Rapids Public Schools's total expenditure of $304.7M (NCES FY2023).

Next read for Grand Rapids Public Schools
Disclaimer & data sources

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD). Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainTeacher

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Editorial standards & source notes

According to the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) F-33 Local Education Agency Finance Survey, PlainTeacher's figures are computed directly, no number is typed in by an editor. Grand Rapids Public Schools's salary and finance figures are computed directly from its FY2023 F-33 submission, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Data current as of FY2023.